I know that you're not being an ass. LOL I'm just trying to make you understand.

First, how do you know how long it takes an artist to paint? Some paintings do, indeed, take a year to paint. But, if the medical care for a year is a bad analogy - how about doing my heart bypass surgery gratis (certainly a painting takes 5-6 hours to complete).

Second, it IS property. I have a friend who just settled a HUGE settlement with a hotel in Houston that had taken her designs from a piece of work and used them in a carpet (Caristan carpet - Paula Nadelstern artist). They didn't actually steal ANYTHING material from her. But they stole her work - her ideas - her right to make money from what she does for a living.

The ONLY way a songwriter makes money is to get royalties on what he has written. Everytime you download his song without paying for it, it's the same as going into his home and taking something that belongs to him.

The Mona Lisa is not a good example - it's past the copyright time limit - just as anybody can record Beethoven or Bach or Wagner. But you CAN'T record Stevie Wonder without permission and/or paying a royalty.

I know that you don't see the harm - and I've read enough of your posts to know that you're fair and that you're not being a jerk about it! But why is it that the things people in this country prize highly - music, films, books and art - are the things they feel most legitimate about copying or pirating or downloading without paying the artists who have enriched their lives?